Apparatus for retaining contact masses in tubular elements



June 11, 1940. M. F. PERKINS 2,203,840

APPARATUS FOR I EEIAIIf IIIIG CONTACT MASSES IN TUBULAR ELEMENTS Filed July 12, 1939 Patented June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE azoaam Al'PABA'l'US FOR RETAINING CONTACT MASSES IN TUBULAR ELEMENTS Application July12, 1939, Serial No. 283,989

fullers earth and the like or granular material. possessing catalytic activity, through which a stream of fluid to be treated orconverted is actor or filter chamber comprising one or more elongated tubular elements within which the contact mass is disposed and, to give access to the interior of the tubular element or elements for inspection, cleaning, replacement of the bed of contact material, etc., a header or other suitable terminal fitting is provided at one or both ends of the tubular element or elements, the terminal fitting being provided with a' port opposite the end of the tube and a removable closure member for said port such as a ground joint or screw plug, bolted cover plate or the like.

The improved device provided by the invention is intended for use in conjunction with reactors, filter chambers and the like of the type above outlined and serves the usefulpurpose of releasably retaining the column or bed of contact material in the tubular element or individual tubular elements of the apparatus in such a manner that it will not be unintentionally dropped from the tube or tubes when the closure member isremoved from the port, but is readily accessible through the port when the closure member is removed therefrom.

The features of the invention can best be explained with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the lower portion of a reactor tube or the like terminating in a fitting of the type above referred to and incorporating a device of the type provided by the invention for retaining a bed of contact material within the tube.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l with the closure means removed from the fitting and the supporting device in a position to drop the bed of contact material from the tube.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the contact mass supporting device designated by the referencenumeral9 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing, the tube l which 5 Claims. (01. 23-288) contains a bed of granular contact material 2 is in this particular instance rolled at its lower end into a terminal fitting 3 having a threaded port 4 in the side wall thereof through which fluid to be treated in the bed of contact material may be introduced into the fitting and flow therefrom upwardly through the tube or through which the treated materials discharged downwardly from the bed of contact material in the tube may be removed. A tapered plug port 5, preferably of somewhat larger minimum diameter than the external diameter "D of the tube and, in any case, of somewhat larger minimum diameter than the internal diameter d" of the tube is provided in the end of fitting 3 directly opposite the lower end of the tube and aligned with the vertical axis of the tube. Beneath the tapered plug port 5 and communicating therewith a screwed plug port 6 is provided. The closure means for the lower end of the fitting comprises a tapered plug I, the tapered face of which is ground to a seat with the tapered surface of the plug port 5, and a screwed plug 8 which bears against the tapered plug and retains it in position.

The specific form of terminal fitting here illustrated or any other conventional form may be employed within the scope of the invention so long as an access port with closure means therefor is provided directly opposite the end of the tube and isat least as large in diameter as the internal diameter of the tube and so long as the fitting is provided with a ledge, protruding lug, recess or the like upon which the end of the removable member 9 for retaining the bed of contact material in place may firmly rest, as will bepresently described.

In this particular instance, a ledge or shoulder i is provided above-the tapered plug port and the lower end of bar or rod ll of member 9 bears against and is supported from this ledge when member 9 is in position to retain the bed of contact material within the tube, as illustrated in Fig. l. The upper end of bar or rod II is attached by welding or by any other desired manner, notillustrated, to the central portion of disc or plate I! which is provided with a plurality of perforations l3 to permit the passage of incoming reactants into the bed of contact material or the passage of outgoing products from the bed of contact material, as the case may be. The perforate disc or plate I2 is somewhat smaller in diameter than the internal diameter d" of the tube so that it will readily other desired manner.

pass into and out of the tube and through the plug ports in fitting I.

When desired, particularly in case a substantial quantity of the granules, comprising the bed of contact material, are of relatively small size and are of such form that they might tend to plug the perforations i3 provided in disc II, a reticulate member such as a screen or wire fabric indicated at I is provided over the upper surface of-the perforate disc and, when desired, may be secured thereto by tack welding or in any As an alternative to the use of screen I, when required, one or more relatively shallow beds or layers of inert material such as gravel or rock or spherical shapes of glass, baked clay or the like, such as marbles, may be provided between the perforate disc I! and the bed of contact material to prevent loss of the latter through the perforations of the disc. This is now a well known expedient and is not illustrated in the drawing.

In employing the releasable retaining device of the invention; before tube l is filled with contact material and with plugs I and 8 removed from fitting 3, member 9 is inserted through the plug ports into the lower end of the tube with bar or rod II in a substantially vertical position such as illustrated in Fig. 2 and this bar or rod Ii is then moved into engagement with ledge II, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the angular relation of bar H and disc I: being such that the disc is in a substantially horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 1, when bar ll rests on ledge Ill. The tube may then be filled with contact material andthe plugs I and 8 inserted in the fitting at any time after member 9 is in place.

Since member 9, in cooperation with the por-v tion of the fitting upon which it rests. supports the bed of contact material independent of the removable plugs I and 8, the latter may be removed at any time for inspection or the like without disturbingthe bed of contact material and, when it is desired to replace the latter, the plugs may be removed from the fitting and suitable receptacles for catching the contact mass may be placed beneath the open plug ports before the mass is released from the tube.

To facilitate the removal of member 8, a suitable opening IE is preferably provided adjacent the lower end of bar II by means of which the bar may be grasped with a suitable hook or the like, not illustrated, through the open plug ports and pulled from ledge It, thus allowing member 9 and the bed of contact material, which it has been supporting, to drop through the open plug ports.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a-

releasable supporting element comprising a perforate metal disc and an elongated arm fixedly secured to and extending from the central portion of said disc at an oblique angle to the plane thereof, the free end of said arm terminating in a surface substantially parallel to that of the disc.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a releasable supporting element comprising a perforate metal disc and an elongated arm fixedly secured to and extending from the central portion of said disc at an oblique angle to the plane thereof, the free end of said armterminating in a surface substantially parallel to that of the disc, and a reticulate member of relatively small mesh in relation to the perforations of said disc disposed over the free surface of said disc.

. 3. In an apparatus of the class described, a releasable supporting element comprising a perforate metal disc and an elongated arm fixedly secured to and extending from the central porto contain a mass of granular contact materialand having a terminal fitting at its lower end provided with a port directly opposite the tube and closure means for said port, means lnsertable into the terminal fitting and lower end of the tube through saidport and adapted to retain said mass of contact material within the tube independently of the closure means for said port, said means being supported at one end thereof on a portion of the terminal fitting other than the closure means for said port and being accessible for release from its retaining position when the closure means for said port is removed.

5. In combination with an elongated substantially vertically disposed tubular member adapted to contain a mass of granular contact material, a terminal fitting at the lower end of said tube provided with a port in axial alignment with said tube, closure means for said port, a perforate disc of slightly smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the tube, an arm fixedly secured to and extending from the central portion of the disc and depending therefrom at an oblique angle to the plane of the disc, said disc and arm being adapted to pass through said port in the terminal fitting and enter the lower end of the tube, and an internal shoulder in said terminal,

fitting for firmly supporting the free end of said arm when said perforate disc is in substantially horizontal position within the tube, the said arm and disc being thereby adapted to support said mass of contact material, disposed above the perforate disc, independent of the position of said fitting closure means.

MAYNARD F. PERKINS. 

